Saturday, July 21, 2012

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient 1,100-year-old burial chamber at the archeological site of Atzompa, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
The funerary complex, consisting of three burial chambers, is different from the previously discovered finds in the region.

It was located inside a building designed exclusively to house a series of tombs placed vertically, one above another, and unlike the ones found so far, they are not underground, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Archaeological "gold mine" illuminates connection between king and sun god.

Ker Than

for National Geographic News

Published July 20, 2012

Some 1,600 years ago, the Temple of the Night Sun was a blood-red beacon visible for miles and adorned with giant masks of the Maya sun god as a shark, blood drinker, and jaguar.

Long since lost to the Guatemalan jungle, the temple is finally showing its faces to archaeologists, and revealing new clues about the rivalrous kingdoms of the Maya.

The Maya sun god as shark-man—one of his several guises on a newfound monument in Guatemala.

Photograph courtesy Edwin Román, Brown University

Unlike the relatively centralized Aztec and Inca empires, the Maya civilization—which spanned much of what are now Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico's Yucatán region (Maya map)—was a loose aggregation of city-states.

"This has been a growing awareness to us since the 1990s, when it became clear that a few kingdoms were more important than others," said Brown University archaeologist Stephen Houston, who announced the discovery of the new temple Thursday.

El Zotz, in what's now Guatemala, was one of the smaller kingdoms, but one apparently bent on making an big impression.

By 2010 archaeologists working on a hilltop near the ancient city center had discovered 45-foot-tall (13-meter-tall) Diablo Pyramid, Atop it they found a royal palace and a tomb, believed to hold the city's first ruler, who lived around A.D. 350 to 400.

Around the same time, Houston and a colleague spotted the first hints of the Temple of the Night Sun, behind the royal tomb on Diablo Pyramid. Only recently, though, have excavations uncovered the unprecedented artworks under centuries of overgrowth.

Discovery in Austrian castle results in a second look at history of clothing

By George Jahn, The Associated PressJuly 20, 2012

A revolutionary discovery is rewriting the history of underwear: Some 600 years ago, women wore bras.

The University of Innsbruck said that archeologists found four linen bras dating from the Middle Ages in an Austrian castle. Fashion experts describe the find as surprising because the bra had commonly been thought to be only little more than 100 years old as women abandoned the tight corset.

Instead, it appears the bra came first, followed by the corset, followed by the reinvented bra.

One specimen in particular "looks exactly like a [modern] brassiere," said Hilary Davidson, fashion curator for the London Museum. "These are amazing finds."

Although the linen garments were unearthed in 2008, they did not make news until now said Beatrix Nutz, the archeologist responsible for the discovery. Researching the items and carbon-dating them to make sure they were genuine took some time. She delivered a lecture on them last year, but the information stayed within academic circles until a recent article in the BBC History Magazine.

"We didn't believe it ourselves," she said in a telephone call from Innsbruck. "From what we knew, there was no such thing as bra-like garments in the 15th century."

The university said the four bras were among more than 2,700 textile fragments - some linen, others linen combined with cotton - that were found inter-mixed with dirt, wood, straw and pieces of leather.

"Four linen textiles resemble modern-time bras" with distinct cups, and one in particular looks like today's version, it said, with "two broad shoulder straps and a possible back strap, not preserved but indicated by partially torn edges of the cups onto which it was attached."

And the lingerie was not only functional. The bras were intricately decorated with lace and other ornamentation, the statement said, suggesting they were also meant to please a suitor. [Oh for pete sakes! What about a woman just pleasing herself by wearing something pretty!]

While paintings of the era show outerwear, they do not reveal what women wore beneath. Davidson, the fashion curator, described the finds as "kind of a missing link" in the history of women's underwear.

Women started experimenting with bra-like garments in the late 1800s, and the first modern brassiere was patented in the early 20th century. It is thought to have been invented by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob, who was unhappy with the look of her gown over a stiff corset.

Also found at Lemberg Castle in Tyrol was a linen undergarment that looks very much like a pair of panties. But Nutz said it is men's underwear - women did not wear anything under their flowing skirts back then. [So you say. You also said bras weren't invented until the 19th century.]

"Underpants were considered a symbol of male dominance and power," she said.

Medieval drawings often show a man and a woman fighting for a pair of underpants in a symbolic battle to see who "wears the trousers" in the family.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

From left to right: Pepper Spray, Thelma, Ginger Snap, and me - Jannibal.
That man on the left turned away from the cell phone cam,pretending not to know us, is Cowboy.

We don't always wear our wax lips or googly-eye glasses. But we usually are laughing at something or another. Pepper is always laughing and she makes everyone else laugh around her. Ginger is the Supreme Leader and Head Trouble Maker. Thelma is the young apprentice. Me, I'm the Old Wise One of the group :)

LIMA (AFP) - Archeologists said Friday they have discovered a tomb about 1,200 years old, from the pre-Inca Sican era, in northern Peru.

A grave of the Sican pre-Inca culture, dating back 1,200 years, was discovered by a group of archaeologists in the region of Lambayeque, north of Peru. Human remains and jewelry were found July 4 along with the tomb, likely that of a member of the aristocracy of the Sican or Lambayeque elite.

Human remains and jewelry were found July 4 along with the tomb, likely that of a member of the aristocracy of the Sican or Lambayeque elite, head researcher Carlos Wester La Torre told AFP.

A gold earflap, a silver-plated crown, and some 120 silver and copper ornaments that served as emblems of power, along with 116 pieces of pottery and seashells were found in the tomb.

The tomb was located in a burial chamber some six meters (20 feet) deep in the Chotuna-Chornancap sanctuary near Chiclayo, at the same location where the remains of a Sican priestess were found in October.

"This discovery is very important because we now know one of the elite classes of Lambayeque culture," said Wester La Torre, speaking from Chiclayo, capital of the Lambayeque region.

The Sican culture, also referred to as the Lambayeque culture, worshipped the Sican Lord. It emerged between 700 and 750 AD, remaining in force until 1375, reaching its high point between 900 and 1100.

At that time, there were about seven to eight "Sican lords" representing heavenly powers on Earth, complete with masked face, upturned eyes and pointed ears.

About 1,800 years ago, at a time when China was breaking apart into three warring kingdoms, a warrior was laid to rest.

Buried in a tomb with domed roofs, along with his wife, he was about 45 years old when he died. Their skeletal remains were found inside two wooden coffins that had rotted away. Archaeologists don't know their names but, based on the tomb design and grave goods, they believe he was a general who had served one or more of the country's warring lords, perhaps Cao Cao and his son Cao Pi.

His tomb was discovered in Xiangyang, a city that, in the time of the Three Kingdoms, was of great strategic importance. Rescue excavations started in October 2008 and now the discovery is detailed in the most recent edition of the journal Chinese Archaeology. (The report had appeared earlier, in Chinese, in the journal Wenwu.)

Photo By Chinese Archaeology, cropping by Owen Jarus

The rescue operation, carried out by the Xiangyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, uncovered many treasures in the tomb. One of the biggest finds was a life-size bronze horse, the largest ever found in China.It measures 5.3 feet long and by 5.3 feet tall (163 cm by 163 cm). "The horse figurine is in standing posture, has erected ears, protruded eyes, opened mouth, long and broad neck, upright mane and drooped tail," writes archaeologist Liu Jiangsheng. [Photos of Three Kingdoms' Tomb & Grave Goods]

The tomb also held a highly detailed glazed pottery model of a two-story mansion surrounded by an enclosing wall with a gateway. The gate has two main doors, each decorated with a door knocker ring and two "feathered" human figurines. Bear motifs were found in many decorations on the house.

Pottery houses like these are well known from the preceding Han Dynasty, although detailed multi-story houses are rare. Architect Qinghua Guo, a professor at the University of Melbourne, writes that models like these are helpful in reconstructing what houses in ancient China may have looked like.

"Literary descriptions of the buildings of ancient China lead us to believe that it (had) a highly developed architecture, but actual remains are rare and fragmentary," Guo writes in the book "The Mingqi Pottery Buildings of Han Dynasty China 206 B.C. – A.D. 220" (Sussex Academic Press, 2010). "The images of those perished buildings were not totally lost, surviving as miniature models in ancient tombs."

More treasures – beautiful and gross

The treasures found in this tomb go on and on, gold and silver disks, crystal and agate beads, gold bracelets, just to name a few.

Among the finds is a jade pig figurine, his snout finely detailed, the tiny animal having apparently gone to sleep. Another work of art shows a glazed pottery figurine of a dog barking furiously while standing on all fours.

Yet another piece shows a beastly tomb guardian, his long tongue sticking out and, grossly enough, "a crawling animal is attached onto the tip of the tongue," Jiangsheng writes.

There's much more.

A bronze mirror was found with a round knob in the center. The mirror is decorated with elaborate patterns that include depictions of the phoenix and even a kui, or a one-legged demon. Two inscriptions were found on the artifact, one reads (in translation) "To benefit the Descendents Forever," while another reads, "May the Holder Get the Position of the Three Dukes." The Three Dukes were the three most powerful officials, below the emperor, in ancient China.

Like any good warrior, the general made sure he was well equipped for the afterlife. Bronze and iron sabers were found in the tomb along with a bronze crossbow trigger still, after 1,800 years, in good condition.

The Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period is one of the most celebrated periods of Chinese history. It saw the end of the 400-year-long Han Dynasty and the emergence of the kingdoms of Wei, Wu and Shu.

There are frequent references to it in popular culture. A 14th-century historical novel called "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is considered one of the most popular works ever written in Chinese. Also movies like "Red Cliff" and a series of video games produced by Koei have brought this period further attention in both China and the West.

While researchers do not know who this general was, or who he fought for, they believe from the artifacts and architecture found that he was laid to rest early in the Three Kingdoms period, which formally started in A.D. 220. Furthermore accounts by historians indicate that Xiangyang where he was buried occupied a strategic area that allowed armies access between northern and southern parts of the country.

Toward the end of the Han Dynasty the city was controlled by Liu Biao, technically a governor of Jing Province, although in practice he was independent of the Han court. He held onto the city until his death in A.D. 208, after which the armies of Cao Cao approached the city and the governorship was surrendered. Cao Cao would then use the city as a base for his drive south, a campaign that would end in his defeat at the hands of Liu Bei and Sun Quan at the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Even after the defeat the city of Xiangyang remained in Cao Cao's hands although an attempt to take it was made in AD 219 by Guan Yu, a Chinese general still revered today.

In A.D. 220 Cao Cao died and was succeeded by his son Cao Pi, who proclaimed himself emperor although his forces did not control the whole country. The fighting between the three kingdoms would go on for several decades more and long after Cao Pi's early death in A.D. 226.

Yet throughout Cao Pi's rule Xiangyang appears to have remained in his hands, leaving open the possibility that the general buried in the newly discovered tomb was one of his retainers, allowed to have a grand tomb, with treasures, for the afterlife.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Final standings are now available for all sections EXCEPT U-2000 - pending. Chess femmes are in red and Goddesschess prize winners notated at the end of their scores. (Updated about 7:32 p.m. to add U-2000 section):

A cemetery dating back to 3500 years ago has been discovered in the Taj Amir region near the city of Yasuj in the southwestern Iranian province of Kohkiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad.Over 20 graves have been excavated so far by an archaeological team in the cemetery, which covers an area of over 60,000 square meters, team director Mohammad Rajabi told the Persian service of IRNA on Friday.

The cemetery is estimated to contain over 500 graves, he added.

Pottery, stone and bronze artifacts have been discovered beside the skeletons unearthed from the graves. In addition, earrings, rings, daggers, bayonets, coins and pottery jars have been discovered in the graves.

All the artifacts have been transferred to a museum in Yasuj, Rajabi said.

About 8000 square meters of the cemetery have been destroyed by a construction project, which belongs to Yasuj University of Medical Science, he stated.

A total of 70 graves have been totally demolished during the construction project and all artifacts located in the graves have been lost, an expert of the Yasuj Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department stated.

"The destruction process is still underway," said Rahmani, who gave only his family name.

ÇANAKKALE - Anatolia News Agency
A sculpture depicting the goddess Artemis and estimated to be about 1800 years old has been discovered at an excavation site at the ancient city of Parion, near the village of Kemer in the Biga district of the northwestern province of Çannakale.

The excavation is being conducted by Professor Cevat Başaran, an instructor in the archaeology department at Erzurum’s Atatürk University, and is being carried out in six zones of the ancient city.
The marble sculpture was dug out in pieces at Odeion, one of the six excavation sites. Başaran, the head of the excavation, has announced that the sculpture depicts a clothed woman, is 1.70 cm tall and approximately 1,800 years old, and is a high quality sculpture of its kind. The excavators also found marble sculptures depicting animals including sheep and dogs.

“The bow and arrow in her hand indicates that the sculpture belongs to Artemis [Diana], the goddess of hunting, the wilderness and wild animals,” Başaran said.

An attempt to smuggle ancient
artefacts, possibly worth millions of dollars, out of the Pakistani port city of
Karachi has been foiled, police say.

A top archaeologist has said the goods are at least 2,000 years old and were
illegally excavated. Police have called in experts to help assess their
value.

Two men caught trying to ship the items have been arrested, police say.

Karachi is often used by smugglers who can get criminal support to take
valuable antiquities out of country.

Customs officers in 2005 foiled a similar attempt to smuggle nearly 1,500
artefacts worth more than $10m (£6.4m) out of Pakistan.

Some of the antiquities found in a container marked "furniture" at that time
were 7,000 years old, archaeologists said.

'So
heavy'
Police Deputy Superintendent Majeed Abbas told the BBC that police conducted
the raid in the eastern part of Karachi in the early hours of Friday
morning.

The artefacts are thought to have come from the kingdom of Gandhara, which
spanned northern Pakistan and parts of eastern Afghanistan.

"These artefacts were loaded in a container... and were so heavy," Mr Abbas
said. "We had to call specific machines and a forklift truck to download them
carefully."

Mr Abbas said that the two men arrested told police that the artefacts were
brought to Karachi six months ago for a sales deal.

The deal was cancelled and the men told the police they then tried to take
the antiquities to Rawalpindi.

"But the papers we've recovered from the vehicle show a different
destination. [They suggest that] the vehicle was on its way to Sialkot City of
Punjab province, probably for another deal," Mr Abbas said.

"We have a hunch that they were about to deliver it to some buyers on their
way," he said.

Meanwhile leading archaeologist Qasim Ali Qasim told Geo TV that the relics
were mostly Gandharan art, found in an area near Peshawar.

He said that most of the items depict the early life of Buddha, which added
to their value.

************************************************************

And now a fight is on over ownership of these priceless precious objects:

KARACHI: Antiquities authorities of Sindh on Saturday remained
engage in examination and documentation of the antiquities recovered by Karachi
police from Landhi.

The final possession of recovered antiquities may
cause a row between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa governments as both are
claiming the property.

According to Additional Secretary of Culture
Department Sindh, Ashfaq Hussain Mausvi, examination of some 180 objects had
been done. He said that there were remaining four to five packets which were
being examined. He said that the antiquities officials were also making
documentation of the objects. Police had recovered antiquities, including
ancient idols and statues of Gandhara Civilization, in a raid on container in
Landhi which were being transported to Sialkot. According to antiquities
department authorities, these antiquities were also brought from Sialkot to
finalise custom formalities.

The Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa’s (KP) Culture
Minister Syed Aqil Shah told local reporters that his government would formally
approach Sindh government authorities for seeking possession of the impounded
antiquities. He said that his province had remained centre of the Gandhara
Civilization in the country, therefore, those antiquities, would be kept
there.

However, the Sindh government authorities as well as archeologists
of the province were opposing the demand. Additional Secretary Culture, Ashfaq
Mausvi, said that the remains of the Gandhara Civilization were also found in
Khirthar range and other parts of the province. However, he added, court would
decide the matter. Renowned archeologist, Ishtiaq Ansari, said Sindh had also
remained part of the Gandhara Civilization, and human ashes of Gautama Buddha,
founder of Buddhism are buried in Kahu Jo Daro, Mirpurkhas. [Are they sure those ashes are still there???] He said that the
history shows that Gautama Buddha’s human ashes were initially sent to some
eight countries, and later to 84 countries, and the Sindh was also among those
areas.

The female skeleton was found with brooches and hundreds of amber and
decorated beads

Experts believe that such burial rituals indicate wealth and power

PUBLISHED: 21:26 EST, 2 July 2012
| UPDATED: 02:25 EST, 3
July 2012

The remains of a bejewelled Anglo-Saxon woman
discovered in a burial site beside a cow have been described as a 'bizarre find'
by archaeologists.
It is thought the grave, which was unearthed
in Oakington, Cambridgeshire, by Manchester Metropolitan and Central Lancashire
university students, is the first of its kind to be discovered in the
UK.

Researchers initially believed the animal
skeleton was a horse, but after further analysis it emerged that the woman’s
bones were actually lying alongside those of a cow.

While human skeletons – from male warriors - have
previously been uncovered next to horses the discovery of the woman next to a
cow which dates from the 5th century, is believed to be a fresh sight.

There are only 31 horse burials in Britain and
they are all with men and student Jake Nuttall said the team had been excited
when they thought the find was a horse, but he said the discovery that it was a
cow made it ‘even more bizarre.’
The female skeleton was found with brooches
and hundreds of amber and decorated beads. She also had a complete chatelaine [keychain]
set, which is an iron girdle and a symbol of her high indicating she was of a
high standing in society.
Co-director of the excavation, Dr Duncan
Sayer, from the University of Central Lancashire, reportedly told the BBC: 'This
is the first animal to be discovered with a woman from this period and it's
really interesting that it's a cow, a symbol of economic and domestic wealth and
power.
'It's also incredibly early to find any grave
of a woman buried with such obvious wealth.'
The findings point to the woman having access
to the community's wealth with Dr Sayer speculating that she was a member of the
regional elite. The objects are believed to describe her identity to the people
who attended her funeral.
Dr Faye Simpson, from Manchester Metropolitan,
said a decision to sacrifice a cow would not have been taken lightly because its
tremendous source of food and the huge cost of rearing it.
Dr Sayer said the find was so special she
didn’t anticipate discovering anything as significant in her lifetime.

Rounds 1 through 3 were held yesterday, Rounds 4 and 5 today. The Southwest Chess Club blog now has R4 pairings posted. Here are the standings for all sections after R3. Chess femmes are highlighted in red:

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"Advanced Chess" Leon 2002

About Me

I'm one of the founders of Goddesschess, which went online May 6, 1999. I earned an under-graduate degree in history and economics going to college part-time nights, weekends and summer school while working full-time, and went on to earn a post-graduate degree (J.D.) I love the challenge of research, and spend my spare time reading and writing about my favorite subjects, travelling and working in my gardens. My family and my friends are most important in my life. For the second half of my life, I'm focusing on "doable" things to help local chess initiatives, starting in my own home town. And I'm experiencing a sort of personal "Renaissance" that is leaving me rather breathless...